Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Soccer Break – Monday edition
Hello and welcome to Reuters Soccer Blog’s new daily digest where we’ll recommend some of the best stories on the internet for you to read over morning coffee/afternoon tea/cocktails (depending on your time zone).
Where better to start with a look at Birmingham City’s last-gasp win over Arsenal in the England’s League Cup final, the drama of which is depicted in our photo of the 89th minute goal that left the north Londoners still yearning to end that trophy drought.
Here’s the Daily Telegraph’s Jonathan Liew’s verdict. Quite simply, the pressure told.
Arsenal are still on for a treble, of course, so it will be interesting to see how they rebound in the FA Cup, Premier League and the Champions League on March 8 when they face the slick and ruthless Barcelona.
Unlike Arsenal, Juventus really are struggling.
“Played 14. Won 4. Drawn 6. Lost 4. An abysmal record belonging not to one of Serie A’s relegation threatened teams but to Juventus…” Read on here.
Another mystifying statistic this season is Real Madrid’s poor away form. Over to Marca to explain all.
Azteca defeat exposes U.S. weaknesses
After a wave of optimism following their successful run in the Confederations Cup, the United States have come back down to earth with their 2-1 defeat to Mexico.
Although Mexico didn’t seal their victory on Wednesday until Miguel Sabah’s strike seven minutes from the end, the result actually flattered the United States who were outplayed at the Azteca stadium.
The U.S’s victory over European champions Spain in the Confederations Cup and their impressive performance in the final against Brazil – when they lead 2-0 before going down 3-2, showed the potential of Bob Bradley’s team.
Good stuff, Simon. Hope you enjoyed your time in DF.
Don Garber Q & A
The following is the transcript of an interview with Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer. Simon Evans talked to Garber as he marked his 10th year in charge of the league.
Commissioner, are you where you expected to be after ten years in the job?
When I first took this job, I thought it might be just about turning the lights on and all of a sudden soccer would get in a position to explode. Over the last decade I have realized that there is tremendous potential for this sport but still enormous challenges – we work on those challenges every day and I am really empowered by how big the opportunity is. But I don’t believe that even in 1999 that I expected that the sport would be as popular as it is today – the games that have taken place over the last few weeks of this summer, I think, are almost unprecedented in American sport. We have had several million people at soccer matches – many were MLS matches, many were international matches against MLS clubs.
We had 93,000 on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl which is the largest crowd in the United States since the 1994 World Cup. In many ways the sport has grown in ways I never believed it could have. But we do recognize that for MLS to benefit from the popularity of the sport we really need to work hard at converting all of these soccer fans into being very committed MLS fans – that is a process that is ongoing and I think will continue to take a long time.
The crowd that stood out for me, although it was not the biggest one, was the 70,000 plus in Baltimore for a friendly. The challenge is obvious I suppose, how do you attract in people like that to MLS? How do you get people without a local affinity to an MLS team to watch the league on television? This may sound like Commissioner-speak but the largest crowds this summer have included MLS teams – this very interested soccer audience is not just interested in seeing two teams play an exhibition and then go home. They are also interested in seeing those teams play against MLS clubs. There will probably be around 70,000 for Seattle against Barcelona on Wednesday and at the press conference with the Barca coach there was talk about how this would be the first game (on Barca’s tour) where the large majority of the fans will be dressed in green and cheering on the home team – and the Barca coach thought that was great. That just shows that when things get put together the right way, the formula does work.
That formula is working in Seattle, we have a perfect storm here of very passionate fans, deeply committed MLS fans, the Sounders matter in this market, they are very relevant and more relevant than any international club. It is part of the process of working hard on that conversion, having the right brand, having the right facility and the right players on the field.
Let’s take the case though of the 30 year old guy who went out to that game in Baltimore, he watches international soccer on television and sometimes MLS, he had a great time at that game, he goes home, he hasn’t got a team in Baltimore. With your expansion plan being step-by-step, how do you expand the game into those areas where there is obviously a huge appetite for the game?
Jeff you do realize WHY Miami FC and the Marlins do not draw many fans don’t you? Miami FC, up until very recently, has done no marketing, and plays in a market where many fans follow big international sides. The Marlins suffer from a bad stadium(currently), many rain delays and hot temps. New ballpark with A/C=normal MLB fans. Portland and Montréal are better fits for USL, it’s why they draw so well. Limited major league competition in those towns allows for USL to prosper. Look at other big cities with USL history, Toronto, Atlanta… all horrible USL support(Seattle wasn’t the best either). Toronto and Seattle now get 20,000+ every game for MLS. The Fusion were mishandled by ownership and the league and were prematurely disbanded. Dallas or KC could easily have been folded instead if the league was in such dire condition. Those two still struggle to draw fans.
MLS needs to be in South Florida. Whether it’s a team actually in Miami this time(Fusion) or back in Ft. Lauderdale(bring back the Strikers!) it must happen.
from Left field:
Cristiano Ronaldo and why art, not the artist, is what matters
Cristiano Ronaldo's obsession with scoring an unforgettable goal in the Champions League final makes perfect sense now the world knows he always intended to leave Manchester United afterwards for Real Madrid.
Reaction in England to his departure was captured in a Guardian headline: "United fans will miss outrageous talent but not a charmless man". Ronaldo, it was said, possessed sumptuous talent coupled with obnoxious self-regard.
What, in the end, will Ronaldo be remembered for? His artistry as a footballer or his perceived failings as a man?
John Updike, who died this year aged 76, gives a clue.
A prodigiously prolific novelist, short story writer, playwright, literary critic, art critic and poet, Updike also produced one classic piece of sports writing entitled "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu". It is a wonderful account of Ted Williams's last game at Fenway Park in 1960, which turned out to be the great slugger's last game anywhere.
Updike cuts to the essence of all great athletes.
"He radiated, from afar, the hard blue glow of high purpose... For me, Williams is the classic ballplayer of the game on a hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill."
